1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to artificial fishing lures. More particularly, it relates to fish attracting lures employing electricity to enhance the attractiveness of the lure to fish. Still more particularly, it relates to an electronically enhanced fishing lure which creates an alternating electric field in the vicinity of the lure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of electricity in one manner or another for the purpose of enhancing the attractiveness of fishing lures to fish is known in the prior art. However, despite the numerous designs, forms, and arrangements, disclosed by the prior art which have been developed for the accomplishment of various objectives, purposes, and requirements, electrically activated fishing lures heretofor devised and utilized consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious configurations, structural forms, and arrangements. This will become apparent from the following consideration of the closest known and relevant prior art.
A first type of electrically enhanced fishing lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,331 issued Oct. 14, 1980, to Ursrey et al. for a Fish Lure. The lure utilizes battery-powered light emitting diodes to attract fish.
Another type of electrically enhanced fishing lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,313 issued in Apr. 22, 1986, to Dugan for a Fishing Lure. The lure utilizes battery powered sound generators for emitting tones underwater to attract fish.
A further type of electrically enhanced fishing lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,773 issued in Nov. 3, 1992, to Scott et al. for an Electrified Fishing Lure. The lure utilizes a piezoelectric material in the body of the lure which is subjected to flexing which causes the material to produce an electromotive force which is connected to an LED for providing an illuminating effect to attract fish.
Yet another type of electrically enhanced fishing lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,690 issued Mar. 5, 1996, to Hunt for an Electronic Firefly Lure. A battery powered light source imitates the visual presentation of a firefly to attract fish.
And still a Per type electronically enhanced fishing lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,999 issued May 18, 1999, to Petras for an Electrolysis Fishing Lure. A fishing lure is provided with two body portions having different metals with the body portions being movable with respect to each other for generating an alternating current to attract fish.
Electrically enhanced fishing lures powered by batteries are unnecessarily heavy and subject to failure due to power depletion and short circuiting in the aqueous atmosphere. While the last prior art device considered above is formed for the purpose of creating an intermittent electric field surrounding a fishing lure for attracting fish, which is the subject of the present invention, the apparatus and method employed by the present invention depart from the conventional concepts and designs taught by the prior art. In doing o, the present invention provides a method and apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of attracting fish as described above, but it accomplishes the result in a different and improved manner for producing a moderately controllable and variable electrical voltage in the vicinity of the fishing lure.
In view of the foregoing described and other obvious disadvantages inherent in the known types of electrically activated fishing lures presently existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a new electrically activated fishing lure construction wherein the same can be utilized to attract fish while fishing with various types of lures.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described hereafter in greater detail, is to provide a new electronic fishing lure apparatus and method which have many of the advantages of the electrically activated fishing lures mentioned above. It also includes novel features that result in a new electronic fishing lure which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art related to electrically activated fishing lures, either alone or in any combination thereof.
The present invention is an electric voltage generator for attachment to fishing lures for attracting fish. It is comprised a sealed rigid tube formed for containing a movable weight and having end wall formed for preventing movement of the weight beyond certain limits. The end walls are arranged to abruptly terminate longitudinal movement of the weight in the tube. A piezoelectric crystal is secured to the tube and electrically connected to the surrounding atmosphere. A free weight is disposed and contained in the tube and formed to move longitudinally therein whereby as the weight moves in the tube in response to movement thereof and strikes the end walls, the shock of any contact between the weight and the end walls is transmitted to the piezoelectric crystal and an electric voltage is generated and conducted to the surrounding atmosphere.
The more important features of the invention have been broadly outlined in order that the detailed description thereof which follows may be better understood and so that the present contribution to an improvement in the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
With respect to the claims hereof, and before describing at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components which are set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of being created in other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed here are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other forms, structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as hose constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the append ed abstract is to enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the public generally, and especially designers, manufacturers, and practitioners of the art who are not familiar with the patent and legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the specification, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a new and novel electronic fishing lure apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the electrically activated fishing lures mentioned heretofor as well as many novel features that result in a new electronic fishing lure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic fishing lure which generates an electric voltage field intermittently in the vicinity surrounding a fishing lure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fishing lure which generates its own electrical voltage from the motion of the lure without batteries by being towed through water or manipulated by the fishing line.
It is still another object of the preset invention to provide an electric voltage generator which can produce an intermittent or alternating electric field in the vicinity of a fishing lure in which the voltage can be varied by manipulating the fishing line.
And it is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel method for attracting fish by providing an attachment for a fishing lure or line which can be manipulated to create an alternating voltage intermittently in the vicinity of a fishing lure.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the method and apparatus of the present invention are considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.